The Sixteenth Rail

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The Sixteenth Rail Page 36

by Adam Schrager


  building permits in, 131–132

  chisels in, 66, 73–74, 161, 182

  coverage of costs, 77, 79

  importance of details to, xi, 74

  inspection of woodwork in Lindbergh house, 74–75

  on keeping quiet, 122

  letter to Dorn, on kidnapping investigation, 100–101

  link of ladder to Hauptmann’s home, 184

  New Jersey State Police Facility and, 64

  Pennsylvania Lumbermen’s Association and, 77–78

  on tools and lumber found in Hauptmann garage, 153, 158, 159, 160, 161–163, 165

  tracing of Douglas fir rails, 131–136, 181

  trip to McCormick, 103, 106

  visits to homes in area, 82

  visits to lumber yards, 76

  visit to Hauptmann house by, 168–170, 172, 174, 235–236

  visit to Institution of Epileptics, 79

  visit with Padon, H. C., of the Yates-American Machine Company, 77

  wood sample analysis by, xi, xii, 4, 39–40, 54, 56, 60–64, 62–64, 65, 66–68, 69, 70–83, 88, 89–97, 93, 101–103, 104, 106, 118, 119, 120, 147, 242–243

  in bombs, 292

  as man of science, 60

  marriage of, 14–15

  mathematical focus of, 10, 12

  move to Madison, 15–16

  move to Milwaukee, 9

  as persistent, 102

  personal life of, 21–22

  photography interests of, 10

  Pope’s praise of, 252

  possibility of writing a book on science in crime detection, 184

  postgraduate studies of, 12, 14

  professional life of, 21, 26, 28

  progress of, 78–79

  proximity to suspect in, 135

  publications of, xi–xii, 20, 207, 209–210, 311–312

  reading of, in family, 7

  as rebuttal witness, 255–256

  remarriage of, 298

  retirement of, 296–298

  return to Madison and work on ladder investigation there, 83

  return to New Jersey to work on prosecution case, 157

  as scientist, 74

  as Silvicultural Relations Division head, 20, 26

  as specialist in growth, structure and identification of wood, 63

  speech of, on wood, 20–21

  spending of Chistmas in Madison, 185

  stroke and death of, 301

  suggestion of, on guarding Hauptmann’s garage, 147, 149

  teaching of night classes by, 298, 299, 300

  testimony of

  in Fugmann’s case, 292

  in Hauptmann trial, 191–193, 199–201, 203–207, 208, 209–250

  on canvassing of lumber mills, 232–233

  on chisels, 227–229, 270, 304, 306

  on planes/planer marks, 226–227, 230–231

  praise for, 237–240

  preparation for, 181–184, 203–204

  on quality, 243

  on Rail 16, 204–205, 248

  on Rails 12 and 13, 243

  on Rung 10, 224–225, 226

  on saw cuts, 234–235

  as star witness, 184

  on tree rings, 67–68, 172, 173, 174, 216, 217–218, 220–221, 246–247

  in Magnuson case, 19, 204, 241

  in Mattson case, 292–293

  on wooden shoe, 294

  tours of Forest Products Laboratory, 217, 294

  travels of, 9–10, 22–23, 300

  typhoid fever in, 14

  at Wisconsin Forestry Department, 12

  as Wood Technology head, 19

  woodworking and, 77, 143, 182

  work in Wood Anatomy Unit under Gerry, Eloise, 18

  work of at Forest Products Laboratory, 18–19, 181, 203–204, 241, 271

  as xylotomist, xi, 4, 15, 16

  as young man, 13, 24

  Koehler, Ben (brother), 6, 10, 14, 24, 240

  birth of, 6

  diphtheria in, 7

  Koehler, Edith (Ben’s wife), 6

  Koehler, Ethelyn Smith (first wife), 27

  Arthur’s letters to, 114–115, 116, 120, 131, 133, 259, 274, 277, 286–287

  bird watching by, 23

  children of, 15, 25–26

  community life of, 21, 25

  desire to attend trial, 186

  engagement to Arthur, 12

  European trip of, with husband, 272–273

  housing of, 21, 22, 33

  illness and death of, 27298

  marriage of, to Arthur, 14–15

  observations of, at trial, 201, 203–204, 206, 214, 233, 235

  retirement of, 296–298

  Koehler, George (son), x, 27, 41, 272–273, 300, 311

  birth of, 25

  childhood scares involving, 25–26

  college education of, 28, 298

  marriage of, 298

  Koehler, Hugo (brother), 7, 9, 24

  birth of, 6

  Koehler, Kathryn Marie (daughter), 25

  birth of, 15, 20

  college studies of, 28

  housing of, 33

  Koehler, Louis (father), 4, 24

  bee hives of, 6

  carpentry of, 6

  farm of, 4, 5, 6

  Koehler, Lydia (sister)

  birth of, 6

  death of, 7

  Koehler, Margie Rennebohm (George’s wife), x, 298

  Koehler, Martha (sister), birth and death of, 6

  Koehler, Ottilie (mother), 24

  farm of, 4, 5, 6

  Koehler, Ruth (daughter), 25, 27, 272, 273

  birth of, 22

  college studies of, 28

  Koehler, Walter (brother), 7, 24, 185, 301

  birth of, 6

  university studies of, 22

  Koehler, Walter, Jr., 185

  Koehler, William (brother), birth and death of, 6

  Koehler, Win (second wife), 298, 301

  Kurtenacker, Robert, viii

  L

  La Brie, apartment of, 113

  Lamb, J. J.

  checking out building permits and, 131–132

  development of plan of action by, 74

  Hauptmann’s trial and, 191, 192

  in Lindbergh kidnapping investigation, 53, 64, 71, 78, 81, 93, 94–95, 110, 122–123, 132, 133, 136, 143, 147, 151, 162, 169, 185

  verdict and, 260

  Lampson Lumber Company (New Haven), Lindbergh ladder investigation and, 112

  Landes forest, in World War I, 84–85

  Lange, George K., provision of aid to prosecution during trial, 201

  Laurie, Joe, Jr., 268

  Law and Order, 309

  Lawrence University, 10

  Leather Stocking Tales, 8

  Leon, Samuel, 277–278

  Let’s Dance, 303–304

  Levy, Barry, 121

  Liberty Magazine, 278

  Hoffman’s articles in, 268–269

  Liggett’s milk sugar, 102

  Lindbergh (Berg), 32, 305

  Lindbergh, Anne Morrow

  appeal to kidnappers, 42

  engagement to Charles, 37, 39

  kidnapping of son and, 40, 58, 59

  marriage to Charles, 39

  pregnancy of, with second child, 40

  as prosecution witness, 198

  Lindbergh, Charles A., 313

  as barnstormer, 33–34

  Bruno, Harry, as press secretary of, 122

  building of ice boat by, 32

  college studies of, at Wisconsin, University of, Madison, 29, 30, 32

  en
gagement to Morrow, Anne, 37, 39

  enlistment in army, 34

  fame of, xii, xiv, 36–37

  Finn as member of security detail of, 122

  flight of, across Atlantic Ocean, xii, xiv, 34–35

  flying instruction for, 32–33, 34

  friendship with Dudley, Delos, 29–30, 32, 33, 34

  friendship with Plummer, Dick, 30

  grand jury testimony of, 167

  Harley-Davidson ride and, 30, 32

  hiring of by Robertson Aircraft Corporation, 34

  Hoffman’s efforts to reopen case and, 274

  honorary degree for, 37, 38

  interests of, in flying, 31, 32–35

  Koehler, Arthur, and, 37, 202

  landing of, in Paris, 35–36

  Madison apartment of, 29–30, 33

  as marksman, 32

  marriage to Morrow, Anne, 39

  promotion of commercial aviation and, 36–37

  return to U.S., 36

  Sourland Mountain home of, 42

  testimony of, 189–190, 214, 289

  Lindbergh, Charles A., Jr.

  birth of, 39

  cause of death, 53, 74

  finding of body, 52–53

  kidnapping of, vii, xii, 39–40

  murder of, 164, 166, 168

  return of sleeping suit of, 52

  Lindbergh, Evangeline, 34

  move to Detroit, 33

  move to Madison with son, 29

  as teacher, 29, 33

  Lindbergh house, 42

  checking out of Gate house and Chicken house, 75

  inspection of woodwork in, 74–75

  use of Ponderosa pine in, 75–76

  Lindbergh kidnapping

  arrest of suspect, xii, 139, 140, 145, 146

  circumstantial evidence in, xiv

  crank letters as problem in, 47

  familiarity of kidnapper with crime scene, 74

  finding of thumb guard, 52

  Finn in investigation of, 121–122

  involvement of federal government in, 53

  lack of evidence in, xiv, 40

  Lamb, J. J. responsibility for, 64, 66

  mother’s handling of, 40, 58, 59

  New Jersey State Police investigation of, 42–43

  news of, for March, Iva, 58

  nursery window in, 50

  offering of reward, 53

  passage of Federal Kidnapping Act, 43

  personnel assigned to, 61

  physical evidence in, 43–44

  public in punishing of suspect, 58–59

  questioning of servants in, 44

  ransom notes in, 40, 44, 52

  thought on, as inside job, 42

  tracing ransom money in, xii, 52, 123–131

  wanted poster in, 45

  Lindbergh ladder

  breaking of, during kidnapping, 43, 66

  chain of custody for, 193

  entrance of, into evidence at trial, 191–193

  as homemade, xv, 47, 49, 66, 67, 73

  poor quality of, 66–67, 68, 160

  tracing of, to National Lumber and Millwork Corp, 146–147

  use of, in kidnapping, 43–44

  use of style of, 55–56

  width of, 66

  Lindbergh ladder investigation, 43

  blade defect in, 111

  chip marks in, 111

  chisels in, 66, 73–74, 161, 182

  clues in, 88

  cost of examining, 62

  coverage of costs, 77, 79

  cutter heads in, 87, 89

  detailed inventory of, xv

  disassembly of, 66, 68, 69, 70

  Dorn wood samples in, 102–103

  Douglas fir and, 54, 55, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 79, 83, 92, 93, 118, 131, 132, 133, 134, 136, 153, 181, 183, 242, 246

  Douglas fir in, 92–93, 133

  dowels in, 66, 79, 93, 131

  exhibit of, at U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, vii–viii

  fibers on, 55

  finding of match in, 97

  fingerprints on, 44, 51–52

  identification of parts of, 62, 68, 69, 70

  importance of details in, xi, 74

  joints in, 66

  keeping quiet on, 87–88, 122

  knife cuts in, 80, 81, 89, 94–95, 97, 102

  Koehler’s investigation of, xv–xvii, 54, 55, 60–61, 62–64, 65, 66–68, 69, 70–83, 88, 89–97, 131–182, 161

  letter to Dorn in, 100–101

  license plate number in, 136

  linking ladder to Hauptmann house, 184

  lumber feed in, 135–136

  lumber mills and yards in, xv, 76, 91–92, 96–97, 133–134

  machine companies and, 90

  machine planing of, 87, 89

  New Jersey State Police Facility and, 64

  North Carolina pine and, 70, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81–82, 83, 90, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 100, 104, 107, 109, 110, 112, 113, 118, 131, 133, 153, 159, 183, 222, 233, 242, 244, 253

  notches in, 66

  Pennsylvania Lumbermen’s Association and, 77–78

  as physical evidence, xiv, 46–47

  planers in, 82, 90–97

  Ponderosa pine and, 55, 72, 74, 75, 76, 82, 135–136, 153, 181, 222, 223, 225, 226, 234, 238

  rails in

  Rail 12 in, 70, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 87, 89, 90, 94, 95, 102, 103, 104, 109, 132, 147, 157, 181, 184, 229

  Rail 13 in, 70, 79–80, 81, 82, 83, 87, 89, 90, 94, 95, 102, 103, 104, 109, 132, 147, 157, 181, 184, 229

  Rail 14 in, 70, 83, 92, 133, 134, 181

  red oxide paint on, 70, 75

  Rail 15 in, 70, 71, 83, 92, 133, 134, 136, 181

  Rail 16 in, xv, xvii, 70–71, 80, 132, 143, 155, 159, 169–170, 184, 201, 217, 235

  nail holes in, xv, 55, 71–72, 212–213

  Rail 17 in, 70, 71, 83, 92, 133, 134, 181

  rails of, xv, 54–55

  report on, xvi–xvii

  rungs in, xv, 54–55, 66

  lack of wear for, 72

  Rung 1 in, 68, 70, 135, 162

  Rung 2 in, 135, 162

  Rung 4 in, 162

  Rung 7 in, 135

  Rung 8 in, 135

  Rung 9 in, 135

  Rung 10 in, 135

  224-225, 212–213

  spacing of, 66, 67

  sales records in, 109–110

  sections of, xiii, xiv

  storage of, 62

  Stuart, R. Y., suggestion on having examined, 61–62

  as telescoping, xiv, 44, 46, 48, 66

  on tools and lumber found in Hauptmann garage, 153, 158, 159, 160, 161–163, 165

  tracing of Douglas fir rails in, 131–136, 181

  transport to Washington, 54

  tree-ring research and, 67–68, 172, 173, 174, 216, 217–218, 220–221, 246–247

  visits to area homes, 82

  visits to Hauptmann house by, 168–170, 172, 174, 235–236

  visit to McCormick, 103, 106

  wood used in, xi, xii, 39–40, 54, 56, 60–61, 62–64, 65, 66–68, 69, 70–83, 88, 89–97, 95–96, 104, 106, 118, 120, 147

  woodwork in Lindbergh house, 74–75

  Lindbergh Oak, 42

  Lind & Glantz, tracing of ransom money and, 130

  Lipscomb Lumber (Henderson, NC), Lindbergh ladder investigation and, 97

  Little Miss Marker, 176

  Locard, Edmond, 141

  Loney, Arch, reopening of Hauptmann case and, 271, 278, 281, 282, 284, 286

  Lucas, Josh, 303

  Lumberjacks, in World War I, 84, 86

  Lumberma
n’s Directory, 96

  Lyle, Walter, tracing of ransom money and, 130, 1447

  Lyons, John J., Lindbergh kidnapping investigation and, 145

  M

  MacDonald, Fred, ix

  Maclario, Alfonso, 285

  Macy’s, visit to in ladder investigation, 77

  Madden, Mrs. J. W., 59

  Madison League of Women Voters, 57, 58

  Magnuson, John

  Koehler’s testimony against, 19, 204, 241

  legal case against, 3–4

  opposition of, to drainage ditch, 13

  Osborn, Albert, as expert witness at trial of, 149–150

  Maloney, Margaret, 290, 291

  Maloney, Thomas, 290–291

  Maloney, Thomas, Jr., 290, 291

  Manufacturers Hanover Bank, ransom money and, 126–127

  Marden, Orison Swett

  founding of Success, 9

  importance of education to, 9

  Marsh, Iva (Mrs. Henry E.)

  busy lifestyle of, 57–58

  knowledge of Lindbergh kidnapping and, 58

  Madison League of Women Voters and, 57, 58

  move to Madison, 57

  Mary, Queen, 36

  Massey, Bert, financing of Scientific Crime Detection Library, 140–141

  Matthews, George, on use of Ponderosa pine in Lindbergh house, 75–76

  Mattingly, Ashley, viii

  Mattson, Charles, abduction and murder of, 292–293

  McCormick, Cecelia, Reilly as attorney for, 181

  McCormick, South Carolina, 98, 99

  McCormick Manufacturing Company, 99

  McKinley, William, 253

  McLean, Evalyn Walsh, 59–60

  Means, Gaston

  claim he could procure kidnapped baby for fee, 59–60

  lying on issuing of liquor permits, 59

  Melsky, Michael, ix, 305

  Mencken, H. L., 176

  Messenio, Pete, questioning of, in investigation, 49

  Mielk, Ewald, 254–255

  Millen Lumber Company (Millen, GA), Lindbergh ladder investigation and, 97

  Miller, Regis, viii, 304

  Miller and Sons lumber yard (Princeton, NJ), Lindbergh investigation and, 76

  Miller Lumber (Millen, GA), Lindbergh ladder investigation and, 93

  Missouri Botanical Gardens, 304, 308

  Missouri History Museum Library and Research Center (St. Louis), 313–314

  Morans, Bugs, 140

  Morrow, Elizabeth, 39

  Mueller, Walter, as Wood County sheriff, 2

  Murphy, Detective, search of Hauptmann residence and, 144

  My Lindbergh Papers (Dudley), 29

  N

  National Lumber and Millwork Company

  Hauptmann, Bruno Richard, as employee of, 201

  investigation of workers at, 131

  Lindbergh ladder investigation and, 111–114, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 146–147

 

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